1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatuses for creating a fountain of water in a bird bath, pond, or pool, or for towing a fishing lure, by solar power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bird baths, backyard ponds, and pools, are highly-valued features of residential yards and gardens. As the pace of life continues to quicken, features such as these that draw one's attention to aesthetic pleasures and to nature become increasingly important to a person's well-being. A fountain placed in a bird bath, pond, or pool, may help to draw one's attention to that feature in an aesthetically pleasing manner. However, a suitable fountain that is also easily affordable has not been found in the prior art.
A water fountain that is powered by an external electricity source, for example, requires wire installation that could involve burying wires in a lawn. Installation could also involve making water tight electrical seals and connections within the fountain. This creates the hazard of electrocution. A fountain powered by an external water source is connected to a garden hose, if not to hard line plumbing, which takes effort and know-how to install. And a fountain powered by batteries would need frequent battery replacement.
There is a need, therefore, for a fountain that will operate just as it comes out of the manufacturer's box without wiring or plumbing, is aesthetically pleasing, inexpensive, not wasteful of resources, and shoots an impressive plume of water into the air. Such a fountain is found in the present invention, a self-contained, solar-powered water fountain.
Many challenges exist for a solar-powered water fountain, to successfully apply the disparate arts of solar electricity and apparatuses useful as bird bath fountains. The solutions meeting these challenges are also a part of the present invention.
For example, a solar-powered electric motor would have to operate in a wet environment, which is well-known in the art to be detrimental to the life of the motor. Another problem is that solar cells are inherently unsightly. A third problem is that it is difficult for an electric motor to start-up under low voltage conditions, such as those conditions found in low sunlight. Fourth, a hydraulic pump having seals and other close-fitting parts creates a substantial ambient load on the pump motor. Fifth, solar cells are the most expensive components, and the cost of the apparatus will be almost directly proportional to the cost of the solar cells. Lastly, the overall efficiency of the machine must create an impressive plume of water, capable of satisfying the expectations of the purchaser.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a solar-powered water fountain that can operate in a wet environment, minimizes the view of solar cells, starts in low-voltage conditions, has a pump having low ambient load on the system, minimizes the cost of solar cells, and creates an aesthetically pleasing plume of water. The same technology may be used to power an underwater jet instead of a plume of water into the air for the purpose of towing a fishing lure.